Sunderland are aiming to tie up a loan deal for Senegalese defender Kayder Mangane over the weekend

Sunderland are aiming to tie up a loan deal for Senegalese defender Kayder Mangane over the weekend.

The Black Cats have agreed a season-long loan deal with Mangane’s Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal and he was expected on Wearside over the weekend to undergo a medical.

Martin O’Neill is desperate to bring in at least one centre-back in the January transfer window to bolster his injury-hit defence.

With reports of Sunderland’s interest in Senegal international Mangane filtering through from the Middle East, the Wearsiders’ boss confirmed the Black Cats had made an official approach for the 29-year-old.

While Mangane has spent the last six months playing in Saudi Arabia, he has plenty of experience of European football after spending six years in Switzerland with Neuchatel Xamax and Young Boys and five years in France with Lens and Rennes.

He was hoping to move to the Premier League last summer when he left Rennes and was linked with Newcastle United, West Ham and Arsenal, but no move to England materialised and he moved to Al-Hilal on a contract understood to be worth a tax-free £75,000 per week.

However, he still harbours ambitions of playing in the Premier League, and recently handed in a transfer request at Al-Hilal.

As is standard practice in loan agreements between clubs in different countries, the deal will include a fee if all parties want to make the move permanent in the summer. Assuming the loan goes through, Mangane will be keen to impress O’Neill and prove he is worthy of a full-time switch.

Because, while O’Neill’s immediate concern is dealing with a short-term injury crisis at the heart of defence, he is also on the lookout for long-term signings.

A series of injuries have reduced O’Neill’s central defensive options to the bare minimum going into today’s home game against West Ham, with Carlos Cuellar and Wes Brown both ruled out and John O’Shea a major doubt.

That left him with only two fully-fit centre-backs – Titus Bramble and Matt Kilgallon – who would be fourth and fifth in the pecking order if everyone was available.

Bramble and Kilgallon are set to leave in the summer when their current contracts expire, which means O’Neill needs to find long-term replacements.

TICKETS for Sunderland’s FA Cup third-round replay against Bolton Wanderers next Tuesday (7.45pm) are now on sale, priced at £15 adults and £5 under-16s and over 65s.

Cash turnstiles will be in operation from 6.15 on the day of the game, but the club is advising supporters to buy and collect their tickets in advance to avoid queues on the night.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the Stadium of Light ticket office, online at www.safc.com or by telephone on 0871 911 1973 (24 hours).

In addition to normal hours, the Stadium of Light ticket office will be open from 10am-1pm tomorrow.